Sec. Clinton: Taliban Much More Aggressive

As the U.S. toll in Afghanistan continues to rise, 869 dead now in eight years of war, CBS News Anchor Katie Couric spoke today with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the military situation in Afghanistan, and her relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Katie Couric: Do you think the situation is deteriorating in Afghanistan?

Hillary Clinton: I think it's mixed. I think that-- certainly-- as we've now seen, General McChrystal's-- assessment was that it-- is deteriorating. That the Taliban have-- the momentum. That they are much more aggressive. They are better equipped. They are-- moving-- more broadly in the country than they had been before. At the same time, I think there are some positive-- developments that may not get the attention, because they're not in the headlines.

Clinton: Many more people, particularly children-- women, girls, are, you know, back in school. They get health care. I don't doubt that left to their own devices, the Taliban forces supported and encouraged and to some extent empowered by the ideology-- of-- you know, standing against the foreign occupiers and-- and standing up for-- Islam would give the-- the Taliban a real-- burst of energy to go even further. And that's what we have to decide how to prevent.

Watch the Complete Interview with Secretary Clinton

CBS News Special Report: The Road Ahead

Full Transcript: Interview with Hillary Clinton

The recount continued today in Afghanistan's disputed presidential election. Preliminary results after the voting nearly seven weeks ago showed incumbent Hamid Karzai was the winner. But then came allegations of massive fraud.

Katie Couric: How can the U.S. stand behind a President who is so mistrusted by so many people in the country? Isn't that a bad partnership?

Hillary Clinton: You know, Katie - we're gonna have to expect a lot more. And I-- you know, known and worked with-- President Karzai since 2003, I guess.

Couric: Are you terribly disappointed in him?

Clinton: Well, I-- I believe that some of what we're seeing is endemic. You know, we deal with a lot of countries where the governments either don't have the capacity or are plagued by corruption, cannot deliver for their people. And we know that-- we have to figure out how to better to work with them. And at the end of the day, the people of Afghanistan have to believe that they have a government that's on their side. Otherwise--

Couric: But they don't.

Clinton: Well, some do. And some don't. They don't think they have an alternative. They've got to believe that they're gonna be protected. And in our conversations with people below the Presidential level, people working in the in the national government and people down in the local areas, the village elders, you know, they all say the same thing. Help us to be able to protect ourselves. And then leave.

But the question is, how long will it be before the U.S. can leave? The Administration is offering no timetables as the battle enters its ninth year.

Clinton: We have to figure out how much patience we have and what sacrifices we are willing to make. We still have troops in Europe and we still have troops in South Korea. And, a lot of the governments we have supported with that kind of very heavy footprint as well as financial aid and development and all the rest in the last 50 or 60 years took awhile to evolve.

Couric: We may have a limited presence for many years.

Clinton: I'm not going to characterize what our presence is, but I think it's important for us in the government to make the case to the American people that when we have horrible tragedies like what happened at Wanat or this recent terrible ambush and killing of American soldiers over the last week that this as painful and horrible as it is does have a direct relationship to protecting our country, our interest and our allies and our way of life. And I think that is the case that has to be made and it's up to the American people to decide whether they agree with it and it falls on the President to make the decision about how we proceed.

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Taliban Gaining Firepower and Confidence
Public's Views of Afghanistan War Have Turned Sour
Unplugged: Afghan War Strategy
A Soldier's Last Letter From Afghanistan
Afghan Election Recount Begins
8 GIs Killed as Afghan Strategy Debated
Wanat Probe a Reminder Amid Troop Debate
Zinni: Don't Delay Decision on Afghan War
Skelton, Levin Debate Afghanistan